Read, hear everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after Tuesday's practice

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach James Franklin held his first and only news conference of the team’s second bye week of the season on Tuesday night inside of Holuba Hall. The first question he fielded focused on how his 6-0 and third-ranked team can evolve into a four quarter team during the second half of the season after a first half of the year that saw it be much more dominant after halftime than before it.

“We haven’t really [started fast] in all three, obviously,” Franklin said. “On offense, we started, went down, scored a touchdown, got a PI call, had to kick the field goal. I’m not saying I disagree with the call. I’m just saying we’ve done it [start fast] at times. We got to put it all together so offense, defense and special teams are all starting strong. And, it’s details.

“It’s getting the guys settled., it’s getting them really comfortable. It’s figuring out what they’re going to be doing differently than what we had planned for. Because that’s going to happen, and [we have to get] our guys to adjust and feel comfortable. Play fast. But we just got to do it really, in at least two out of the three phases in each game.”

You can watch and read everything else Franklin said below.

On the play of Penn State tight end Tyler Warren

“It’s been really good, and I think it’s magnified when you got a really good player who’s also really smart and also was a high school quarterback,” Franklin said. “All those things help and they kind of play into it. So taking a snap from [shot]gun with a cadence isn’t foreign to him. Taking a snap from under center isn’t foreign into him. So those things magnify it and allow you to do different things. It’s funny, we ran a similar play when we were at Vanderbilt. So, having players like this that could do a lot of different things, and he’s one of your best players and one of the best players in college football. It helps.”

On the job Andy Kotelnicki and Drew Allar are doing so far

“I think Andy and Danny O’Brien, our quarterbacks coach, and Drew, I think are doing a really good job. I think Beau as well,” Franklin said. “Like I’ve mentioned before, I think Drew is a year older, much more comfortable, much more confident in his role as a leader, in understanding the speed of the game, how to prepare, all those things. I think Danny’s done a really good job of spending time and building trust and having kind of a demeanor on the sideline that I think has been really good for him as well. And then Andy is doing a really good job of playing to Drew’s strengths as well as playing to our personnel strengths. I think it’s a combination of all those things.”

On how things are going with Tom Allen

“The exciting thing is there’s still a lot of room for improvement for us, and that’s the exciting thing, right? We’re fortunate to get a win going into the bye week,” Franklin said. “Got a really good practice today, not very long, but a smart, really good practice. We’re able to work on some things that I think we’re going to need to work on moving forward. We’ll get a chance to do that [on Wednesday] as well, and then, obviously, get into actual game week and be able to build on it even more.”

On former Nittany Lion Landon Tengwall’s media career

“Yeah, I’m just proud of Landon,” Franklin said. “I think he’s got a unique perspective of being a high profile, four to five star national recruit, so he understands that aspect of it. He’s been a starter in a top 10 program in the Big Ten, so he knows what that’s like. He understands the game. So I just think he’s got a unique perspective on the game of football. And then obviously he understands Penn State. So, I think he’s doing a really good job. This was something we’re trying to kind of figure out what the next phase was [for him], whether it was coaching, whether it was strength and conditioning, whatever it may bem media.

“And he seems to be carving out a nice little niche for himself, and none of us are surprised. And then I think the other thing, obviously, is his ability to understand what our players are going through, and also has relationships with him. I think he can ask really good questions that I think a lot of the fans want to hear. So I think he’s doing a really nice job. I’m proud of him, and we’re not surprised one bit. I think he’s got a very, very bright future.”

How does Franklin keep his Penn State players focused as hype about the team builds nationally?

“We just don’t really talk about it,” Franklin said. “We were 1-0 last week, and we’re appreciative of that. I don’t think we’ve talked about it one time in our building. We talked about another team’s ranking today, showing a clip from a game this past weekend, and just talking about the effort that the young man played with. But we don’t talk about that. Those things are out of our control. We really do not talk about it. We don’t spend any time talking about those things. We just focus on trying to get better.

“And you know, I think so far, our guys have done a pretty good job of that. We’re going to have to do that again this week coming up. We’re going to be going on the road, night game, and another tough environment, Jump Around [at Wisconsin], all that good stuff. Really good program. Well coached. So we’re going to need to take another step this week, because these these road games are challenging.”

On Zion Tracy as the starting punt returner

“I think he did a nice job in the most important part of the job, which is catching [a punt],” Franklin said. “I thought there was one that he let get to the ground that he needs to catch [at USC]. I do think as he gets more comfortable, more confident doing that, then he’ll have the ability to make some more plays for us. But as you know, we’ve been kind of working through that all year long. And we’ve been down this road before, so hopefully we’ll be getting

“So, solid, but, but right now, I think we’re doing a really good job on special teams. If you look at us, like punt return, I don’t think anybody’s gotten a yard this year on punt return. That’s based on coverage. That’s also based on how we’re punting the ball. So I think we’re doing a really good job of limiting explosive plays and game-changing plays on special teams. Now we got to start to make a few of our own.”

Why is now a good time for Penn State to have a bye week?

“I just think when you talk about the middle of the season, game six, it’s a good point to have a bye,” Franklin said. “Sometimes you get a bye really early, sometimes you get a buy late, and not the best position for the bye to land, but this is at a good point. And then, obviously coming off a win, I’d probably feel very different if we hadn’t come off a win. But coming off a win, there’s good vibes. There’s good mojo. We got a chance to still learn and teach and grow after a win, which I think is a really important skill and tool for us all to learn.

“Like I talked about before, you shouldn’t need a setback to take a step forward, to have the maturity to work on the things that you need to improve on. So I think the staff is approaching it that way. I think that the players are approaching it that way. I thought today was a really good example of that.”

On injured Lions linebacker Keon Wylie being at practice Tuesday

“Yeah, he’s a guy we’re hoping to get back at some point,” Franklin said.